Contact Information

ODU Gay and Lesbian Student Union

Historical Sketch

The ODU Gay and Lesbian Student Union (GLSU) was founded in 1988 and held
its first meeting in January 1989. Before that time, in the mid and late 1980s,
gay and lesbian students met at a weekly support group held at the University's
Campus Catholic Ministry. Even before that, a Gay Student Alliance existed
on campus in the mid and late 1970s.

In the early days the organization was met with some degree of intolerance,
if not outright hostility. Flyers and posters were torn down or defaced with
anti-gay slurs. The group sought to change stereotypes and misconceptions
through a "Shattering the Myths" poster and flyer campaign. They
held an annual National Coming Out Day Social, every October 11, and a Lesbigay
Awareness Week every spring. Lesbigay Awareness week was usually held in conjunction
with the Annual Breaking the Ice Winter Gay Pride Festival in Webb Center
co-hosted by the GLSU and the Hampton Roads Gay and Lesbian Pride Coalition.

The GLSU also co-hosted homophobia awareness workshops on campus with a faculty
/ staff organization called the Sexual Orientation Support committee. This
group was made up largely of straight, female staff members who had previously
worked on the campus AIDS committee. Staff from the Student Health Center,
Counseling Services, the Women's Center, Student Activities, and other departments
were represented.

The GLSU also went to gay and lesbian conferences hosted by other Virginia
colleges, and networked with other Virginia colleges through two grassroots
organizations known as the Triangle Network and the Virginia Area Rainbow
Student Alliance (VARSA). Many GLSU members were also a part of a Hampton
Roads gay and lesbian youth groups known as Youth Out United (Y.O.U.). In
fact, both groups shared common founders.

The GLSU was originally slated as a "political" student organization,
and many of the groups members did participate in political protests, including
a March on the Norfolk Military base protesting anti-gay discrimination; a
shooting at the Anvil Bar; anti-gay hiring practices at Cracker Barrel Restaurant;
and Mel White's protest of CBN. Members also attended the 1993 March on Washington
for gay and lesbian rights; and supported Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential
campaign.

In 1991, a rash of anti-gay graffiti broke out on campus. Slogans such as
"Kill a Fag;" "Rape a Lesbian," and other derogatory statements
were painted in halls and stairwells across campus and even in surrounding
areas including Waterside and a Gay and Lesbian bookstore on 21st Street in
Norfolk. The group doing the graffiti called itself "Skull and Bones",
and was allegedly made up of members of the College Republicans, but no convictions
were ever made. At least one officer of the GLSU, came to his car one night
after a meeting to find a group of men standing near his car with what appeared
to be baseball bats or tire irons. He was not hurt, probably because a staff
member drove him to his car that night, but later he found key scratches where
his car had been vandalized.

At first the GLSU, did not feel that President Koch or the University Administration
were doing enough to counter a hostile and unsafe environment for lesbians
and gays on campus. They took their concerns to the Virginian-Pilot and local
television news. Finally, in January of 1992, the GLSU met with President
Koch and other University officials to discuss their concerns.

Besides asking the University to take a proactive role in cleaning up the
graffiti and providing homophobia training for ODU faculty / staff, they called
for the abolishment of other inequities on campus toward gay and lesbian students,
faculty, and staff, as well as advancements that would help make the campus
more equal for gays and lesbians. Other wish list items included an office
for Gay and Lesbian concerns, partner benefits for faculty / staff, expanding
ODU curricula to include Gay and Lesbian Studies courses, and removing ROTC
from campus until it complies with ODU's non-discrimination policy. .

Beyond the initial meetings, a campus committee called the Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual Action Committee (GLBAC) was formed to further research and act on
these needs. While many of these things did not come to pass, a Graduate Assistant
for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Concerns position was created within Multicultural
Student Services to act as a liaison between gay, lesbian, and bisexual students
and the University Administration and to continue to advance the needs of
these students on campus. A facilitator on gay and lesbian issues named Kathy
O'bear was also brought in to provide homophobia training to faculty and staff
in June 1992.

In 1993, the Gay and Lesbian Student Union changed its name to Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual Students and Allies in order to be more inclusive. The group has
changed its name again in 2001 to become ODU Out.

Scope and Contents

Material dates from the 1970s through the present, with most of the materials dating from the 1990s. Included are organizational materials such as the group’s constitution, meeting agendas, and correspondence; flyers and information on various events and protests; agendas and minutes from other campus gay and lesbian groups such as the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Action Committee (GLBAC), Sexual Orientation Support Committee (SOS), and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance (the faculty / staff group); Safes Space committee; information related to other Hampton Roads and Virginia organizations such as the Hampton Roads Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition, Queer Nation, the Tidewater Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), the Triangle Network and Virginia Area Rainbow Student Alliance (VARSA), Virginians for Justice, and Youth Out United (Y.O.U.); National organizations such as the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign Fund, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and United States Student Association; included are information on various issues and protests both on campus and off; resources for gay and lesbian people including articles on various gay and lesbian issues, coming out resources, resources on homophobia and heterosexism, gay and lesbian identity development, and creating a campus environment that discourages gay bashing; 1994 messages from a gay listserv called Gaynet; news clippings, articles, and letters to the editor from the Mace and Crown, Courier, Our Own Community Press, USA Today, and the Virginian Pilot related to gay and lesbian issues in general and the student group specifically; VHS tapes of the 1991 graffiti and news clips about it; a VHS tape titled “Out for the Count: Why Gay’s Should Vote for Clinton in 1992”; and various other materials related to the group.

Series Descriptions

Series I: Organization. This series contains organizational materials such as the GLSU’s constitution, meeting agendas, correspondence, committees, and materials related to the 1993 name change. Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Series II: Events. This series contains information on GLSU and GLSU related events including social events, homophobia and other awareness workshops and campaigns, Gay pride festivals, speakers, and protests. Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Series III: Other Campus Groups and Committees. This series includes information on the other gay and lesbian campus groups and committees, including minutes and agendas from the GLBAC meetings that met in 1991 and 1992 to address the graffiti and inequities toward gays and lesbians. Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Series IV: Local Hampton Roads and Virginia Organizations. This series includes materials related to the GLSU’s interaction with other gay and lesbian groups in Hampton Roads and Virginia. Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Series V: National Organizations. This series includes materials related to national organizations advocating for gay and lesbian rights. Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Series VI: Issues and Protests. This series includes materials on various issues and protests that members of the GLSU were involved with both on campus and off. Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Series VII: Resources. This series includes resources including bibliographies, articles, resources, and guides. Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Series VIII: Gaynet messages. This series contains messages from a gay and lesbian student listserv / message board called Gaynet. Materials are arranged chronologically.

Series IX: News Clippings and Articles. This series contains news clippings, articles, and letters to the editor that appeared in the Courier, Mace and Crown, Our Own, USA Today, and Virginian Pilot. Most of these relate specifically to the GLSU, but a few are on gay and lesbian issues in general. Also included is an index of Mace and Crown and Courier Articles related to the ODU gay, lesbian, and bisexual student groups. Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Series X: Miscellaneous. This series contains miscellaneous items such as ads, newsletters, and other items not specifically related to the GLSU.

Series XI: Other Media. This series contains two VHS tapes. One tape shows the anti-gay graffiti on campus in 1991 and includes some television news clips related to these incidents. The other tape is a political advertisement for Bill Clinton and his views on gay issues in 1992.

Access

Open to researchers without restrictions. Questions on literary property
rights should be directed to the Special Collections Librarian.

Size

6 Hollinger Document Cases

Collection Number

RG 37-5A

Container Listing

Box 1

Series I: Organization

Gay Alliance

Brochure

Gay and Lesbian Student Union

Constitution

Correspondence 1988-93

Meeting Agendas 1991-93

Organization

P.R. Committee

Student Organization Assistance Manual

Gay Lesbian Bisexual Students and Allies

Name Change 1993

ODU Out

Announcements 2001-06

Announcements 2007-08

Announcements 2008-09

Announcements 2009-10

Announcements 2010-11 I

Announcements 2010-11 II

Announcements 2011-12 I

Announcements 2011-12 II

ODU Out Files [Compact Disc] 2007-10

Series II: Events

Box 2

Breaking the Ice Festival 1991-95

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender History and Culture Month, October 2001

GLSU Calendar of Events 1990s

Essex Hemphill, December 2, 1992

Flyers

Kathy O’bear Workshop, June 1-2, 1992

LesBiGay Awareness Week 1990s

March on Washington, April 25, 1993

Memorial Service for Diana Van Valen “Niah”, January 27, 1995

National Coming Out Day 1989

National Coming Out Day 1999

President’s Lecture Series: “Who should be allowed to marry: The same-sex debate,” November 9, 2000